Tuesday, February 17, 2015

After going to AirWalk with the students at church about a month ago, Isabel was sure she needed to have her birthday party there. She counted down the days until this party for weeks and could not wait for it to get here. I got a little worried when she got a stomach virus a few days before the party and then there was a chance of ice the morning of the party. Luckily she was feeling much better and we only had rain so it was time to party!

Somehow this sweet baby girl that gave me the name "mommy" turned 8 last week. As I dropped her off at school that morning, I started thinking about life with her and Will about 5 years ago. It was hard. She was turning 3 and I was praying that the terrible 2s were behind us. As much as I loved her and as cute as she was, that girl could make me angrier and more frustrated than anyone else on the planet. She hated going to sleep, could be completely irrational about what and how she wanted things to happen and could throw a serious tantrum. Trying to parent her showed me my own selfishness, impatience, fear and need for God in every area of my life.

Over the past 5 years she has grown so much and I could not be more proud of who she is today. Isabel is sweet and kind to those around her. She is a rule follower and a leader. Isabel is still a very picky eater and can be quite stubborn when asked to try something new. She is smart and quick to learn. Her memory is amazing. While she is quiet and shy around those she doesn't know well, she is silly and crazy and loud when she is comfortable. She is well liked by the kids in her class and her teachers as well. She loves cheer leading, writing stories, playing barbies, and making cartoons on the computer. Isabel is an introvert and her favorite kind of night is ordering a pizza and watching a movie at home.

Isabel celebrated her birthday multiple times. Because Josh's big discipleship weekend for the students at church was the weekend of her birthday, our family celebrated a day early with dinner and milkshakes. She got to open some of her presents that night and was super excited about everything but her favorite was definitely the barbie dream house!

She got to celebrate with her friends at school the next day on her birthday and Josh had lunch with her. Then she got to have her favorite kind of night, pizza and a movie at home! Then she just had to wait a Looooonnnngg week before it was time for her party!